The Hockley Pendant: from an Essex field to the British Museum

Naomi Speakman and Lloyd de Beer,
curators, British Museum

A chance discovery in an Essex field by a four year-old boy has led to the latest addition to the British Museum’s medieval collection. Beautiful, both in its simplicity and elegance, the Hockley Pendant is a diamond-shaped reliquary dating from the beginning of the sixteenth century, and would have been worn by a wealthy individual as a discreet statement of piety.

The Hockley Pendant

As a result of the Treasure Act, and the reporting of finds through the Portable Antiquities Scheme, this is just one of many treasures acquired by museums across the country in the past year, so that such finds can be enjoyed by all.

The decoration on this piece reveals the dual nature of religious jewellery in the early sixteenth century, as a decoration and a holy amulet. The pendant is an excellent example of the intertwining of the secular and the religious in the Middle Ages. The front shows a sombre Saint Helena supporting the cross, while the back shows the Five Wounds of Christ, from his hands, feet and heart. Around the rim are inscribed the names of the Three Magi (or Wise Men): Casper, Melchior and Balthazar.

The pendant on its side, showing the inscription of the name Balthazar.

At just over three centimetres high, the pendant displays a stunning level of evocative detail. The cross shows flecked grains of wood and the Five Wounds of Christ weep blood shaped like tears, which rain down the pendant.

Originally the pendant would have looked slightly different, with the flowers, wounds and names of the Magi all filled with painted enamel. This interplay between gold and enamel was a particularly dramatic feature of late medieval metalwork, and gives us an indication of the high level of skill involved in creating such an intricate piece of jewellery.

The interior of the pendant is now empty, but it would once have held a relic, possibly of the True Cross, which was said to have been brought by St Helena to Constantinople from the Holy Land, and was thought to be the cross on which Christ was crucified.

This object allows us to better understand the enduring physical relationship between the living and the dead in the Middle Ages and the amazing depth and vibrancy of the material culture from this fascinating period in history.

The media in the U.S.A. has lead some to belive that the gold pendant one was owned by King Richard , and there for the high value in British Pounds. What would a such an object be valued at if it had once belonged to a former King of the England in the middle ages ?? same pendent ?

@ Tim,
Thank you for your comment about the Hockley Pendant. There is no evidence to suggest that this object was owned by royalty, and its size and decoration suggest that it was most likely owned by a member of the upper classes.
Lloyd de Beer & Naomi Speakman, British Museum

The finder will be a metal detectorist for life after this!! Now that we have an excellent Reported Finds Scheme in place –together with advances in technology, means that we are doubtless going to unearth more fabulous treasures like this, and the Middleham Jewel was another example!
Well Done
Bill Armstrong

Thanks for your comment Steve – such an amazing find doesn’t come around all that often so it’s great to be able to share it with as many people as possible. As far as the location of the find goes, in order to preserve the integrity of sites where archaeological discoveries are made, for possible further investigation and to deter trespassers, we do not publicly disclose the precise location.

What a fantastic find! (also some great comments above) I (like Steve) was hoping to know where the pendant was found, simply out of curiosity. However it makes complete sense why this can’t be divulged. Such religious jewellery pieces are certainly rare and this has such wonderful decoration to the pendant.